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Make a field bag from recycled clothing

It's nice to have a small field bag for nature walks — to hold your art supplies and also to bring home any treasures you might find.

An old pair of pants can yield 2, 3, or even half a dozen bags depending on the size. We've made many a field bag from an old pair of jeans. Jack and I made this bag out of an old pair of khaki camo pants he had outgrown.

(Denim and khaki are great materials for a field bag because they are tough, durable, and hold their shape without a lining.)

First, find an old pair of pants. Any size will do!

We thought that knee pocket would make a great detail on the front of Jack's bag.

These back pockets would also make a great bag front. If you are using jeans, you can use the front pocket as the front of your bag and the back pocket for the back!

Mark where you want to cut your fabric, and make sure your sketchbook will fit inside your finished bag!

Right away you'll notice one great thing about making a field bag out of your old clothes — you won't have to sew very much, because you can take advantage of the seams that are already there. We cut this bag out of the middle of one leg, so we sewed the bottom and around the top. If you used the bottom of the leg, and the bottom hem of the leg became the top of your bag, you would only have to sew one seam!

Cut along the marks you made. Since we cut out of the middle of the leg, we now have a tube of fabric.

45 comments

This is brilliant! We've made bean bags from jeans, but not a nature bag. We'll have to do this .... I can see how great it would be to have such a durable fabric (and such strong side seams!) for a nature bag. Thank you!!

Love it. I have started with the same thought, but made it too complicated by avoiding pockets and waistbands, and adding lining and top flap. Your use of these features makes for a completely unique and so-cool bag! I'm off to raid the pants supply...

we made some super-cute bags for girls out of jeans and they used wide heavy ribbon for the strap and embroidered them — so pretty, but of course i can't find a picture. and still durable!

annette, thank you so much - lol - yes, you probably made a real bag, whereas this is skewed toward being a kid project! ;^) avoiding lining and using the seams that are there make it really durable and easy for a kiddo to put together.

This is genius! I love that you did it with the zip pocket part, for extra storing space. I was just going to cut some pants to shorts for my son, but now I will save the bottom half and make a bag. His legs are smaller, so I may have to use both bottom legs to make one bag. Thanks.

I just found this linked on some other site and I'm glad I did. This is a great idea! I've used the legs from worn out sweat pants to make gift bags, but this seems even more useful. I could see making a bag and adding in a sketch book plus some colored pencils as a birthday present for a kid.

I am very impressed. I've seen many "bags from pants" but never one that used pants with a zipper in such a way. Brilliant idea! It was also great of you to show the "X" stitching connecting the strap to the bag. I've seen it before, but most likely would not have thought about it.

I know my sons have similar pants they've outgrown (and most likely worn out) - I need to go raid their closets!

Thank you for posting this cute, easy project! A great way to repurpose the pants that our kiddos grow out of all too quickly! My 8 year old daughter and I made a little purse for her out of her favorite khaki pants to carry her binoculars and bird book in while she climbs trees and identifies the birds in our backyard!

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